NEW! Peanut Butter & Jelly Biscuits (The Co-Op)

It's such a lovely feeling when a new peanut butter product hits the U.K shelves and you guys make an effort to let me know. It makes me appreciate that I'm not the only PB obsessive who gets excited by the new treats. Saturday evening three of you got in touch to let me know about the new peanut butter & jelly biscuits in the Co-Op's American range, so thank you. It did however mean that I made a detour after a super early start at work yesterday to the big Co-Op on the other side of town. Read: I bent Bert's arm to pick me up and take me.

'Biscuits with forest fruits filling and peanut butter, sprinkled with biscuit crumb.'

£1.79? For 6 own-brand biscuits? You've got to be kidding me! I felt the pressure to review them after the triple prod about their existence, and prayed that they would be good whilst popping them in my basket. I also spotted these new pretend chocolate coated Oreos, which I can't imagine would be as tasty as the (authentic) white chocolate covered Oreos. 

Each biscuit was individually wrapped, making them perfect for eating on the go, but that's not how I roll. Instead I opened two of the square shaped biscuits as part of my peanut butter inspired late night snack.

They were much thicker than I imagined to be, and I didn't expect them to be square either. The base was very crisp and crunchy, tasting more like shortcrust pastry than biscuit. As you can see, there wasn't a huge deal of the jam filling, meaning that it made little impression on the overall flavour of the biscuit. As for the peanut butter.. well at first I thought it wasn't real peanut butter* because it lacked the salinity that I expected -when in fact, the biscuits contain 19% peanuts, However, the more I ate, the more I enjoyed the biscuits and although there wasn't as much salt or as much jam (or jelly) as I'd have liked, they were edible and fairly enjoyable. There's just no way on earth they're worth £1.79 per pack.

7/10

*If you've had the British peanut butter Oreos, you'll know exactly what I mean by that. If you haven't (lucky you) then I'll fill you in: for some reason Mondelez decided to use a synthetic peanut flavouring instead of real peanut butter. Both disgusting and mind boggling. 

Witches Fingers: Peanut Butter & Jelly Filled Milk Chocolate Bars (Co-Op)

Instagram (or instagrammers) beckoned me again yesterday morning, informing me of a peanut buttery product that I just had to try straight away (thanks ladies!). New, chocolate, and peanut butter are the three words that ring through to my core. They don't have to all be present at the same time either -as apparently these witches fingers were around last year too. How did I miss that?

The 100g pack contained 8 individually wrapped fingers and was priced at £1. I had my doubts about the quality of a chocolate geared specifically towards children (although I do love Milkybar) and only popular enough to market once a year at Halloween (shh, I know Reese's pumpkins are the biz).

"Milk chocolate fingers with a smooth peanut butter and strawberry jelly filled centre."

Do witches have cuboid fingers? According to the Co-Op they do! In all seriousness though I liked the fact that each bar could be broken into four individual sections. 

Breaking one such section in two revealed both the peanut butter and jelly centres. I could smell a mixture of calendar chocolate and synthetic super-sweetness -which I presumed was emanating from the centre. 

Biting into the chocolate made me pull such a disgusted face that my other half started laughing at me. I was eating some white chocolate Reese's hearts around the same time for comparison (and if you believe that you'll believe anything - I just fancied them), and the contrast in sweetness between the two peanut butter & chocolate products was immense. The peanut element of the Witches Finger's filling was fondant like; and although it had a strong peanut flavour, was completely off kilter thanks to the sheer amount of sugar (6.5g per 12.5g finger FYI). As for the jelly, it tasted artificial, and so far removed from strawberries that it was off-putting. If you've ever tried goober you'll have an understanding of what the centre of the Witches Fingers are like. With that in mind I imagine that if you're a fan of the American pb&j spread, you'll like these too. The chocolate was as expected: thin, waxy and just about edible. 

As I made my way through the last three segments of the bar, I found it slightly more bearable, but not exactly enjoyable. I won't bother with these again, and actually hope that I have some teenage trick or treaters to palm them off onto this year -aren't I horrible? ;)

4/10 

Kellogg's Jif PB & J Cereal (American Fizz)

As you may or may not recall, I have been trying to track down this cereal for ages whilst growing increasingly envious of the ample array of peanut buttery products available across the pond. Why can't any of the cereal manufacturers produce a pb flavoured cereal in England? I'm certainly not the only British nut butter addict. I bought the box from American Fizz for £4.99.

I had high hopes for Kellogg's; after all they're arguably one of the best know cereal brands in the world. The 'naturally and artificially flavoured' label on the front didn't phase me either as it's seemingly proudly displayed on all of their pop tart boxes, and they're pretty darn tasty.

The box contained a good mixture of two different cereal types: golden squares with holes in, and little pink balls. As soon as it was opened I noticed an overwhelmingly artificial, chemically smell... Oh dear. 

I  poured myself a bowl anyway and attempted to ignore the odour. I decided to try the peanut buttery cereal first, but all I could taste was fake strawberry. The flavour from the pink balls had leeched its way into every mouthful, and unfortunately it wasn't pleasant. In fact it reminded me of the fake flavour of the protein+ peanut butter flapjack I was unimpressed by back in March.

What a disappointment! I'll have to stick to the co-op's fantastic ice cream to satisfy my pb&j cravings and Reese's Puffs for my cereal needs from now on. 

3/10 

Protein bars to avoid: B'Jammin PB&J (CSN) and PhD Protein Flapjack+ Peanut Butter (Lidl)

I've posted up a few reviews recently of high-protein products recently, such as: the wondrous peanut butter Lenny & Larry's complete cookie, the pretty average for goodness shakes chocolate milkshake, and the god damn awful protein active peanut chia blast bar, but I thought I'd write a few words about a couple of bars that I was less than impressed with. 

B'Jammin PB&J

I bought this at the same time as the Lenny's cookie, lured in by the thought of a healthy snack containing one of my favourite concoctions: peanut butter and jam. 

"B-Jammin’ goes where no bar has gone before. Each bar delivers advanced nutrition that includes high quality protein, real mouth-watering fruit carbs, and fiber that just simply tastes better. With 12-15 grams of net carbs, 12 grams of protein, 11-13 grams of fibre, you’ll be blown away by the taste and flavors in each bar."

The trouble began as soon as I unwrapped the bar. It's similarity to the Pedigree 'Jumbones' I feed my dog was astonishing. Looking completely like something chemically engineered, I can't say I was excited by it's appearance, but I persevered in the hope that it tasted better than it looked.

It didn't. It tasted as utterly false as it appeared, with a mind-bogglingly plasticine-like texture. The flavour was awful, I can't even begin to describe how artificial it tasted. I only endured one bite before it ended up in the bin. I can't believe I wasted £2.50 on this disgusting bar. 

0/10

PhD Protein Flapjack+ Peanut Butter

Unlike the B'Jammin bar, I didn't buy this protein flapjack from a dedicated sports shop, instead it jumped out at me in Lidl (of all places!). As you may have read, I've fallen back in love with flapjacks of late, but I've never come across a peanut butter one before. Suffice to say it wasn't this bar's nutritional benefits that led to me buying it, just the idea of a nutty, comforting flapjack.

"PhD Protein Flapjack+ is an ideal snack for any athlete looking to increase muscle mass and help replenish the body with quality, healthy calories after a hard bout of intense exercise or throughout the day to support an athletic lifestyle. Providing 19 grams of protein and featuring the versatile benefits of premium quality whey protein and milk protein isolate."

Again, alarm bells started to ring as soon as the wrapper was off. Where were the layers upon layers of oats? It looked all wrong. There were a few visible oats, but mostly it was an alienesque brown mass of questionable substance. 

I bit into it, and immediately realised that it would suffer the same fate as the B'Jammin bar. All I could taste was the milk protein isolate, with no hint of peanut butter. Its chewiness was the only link to a flapjack, but it was intolerable, and I only managed two mouthfuls.

0/10

Summary

These were a bad couple of bars, and I'd be tempted to never buy any more (save for the occasional Lenny's cookie purchase) but I've been told that Quest bars are out of this world! Are there any bars that you would recommend? Am I the only one who can't stand the taste of the B'Jammin bar & the protein+ flapjack or have you had a similar experience? Please leave me a comment, I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences!